Justa Local Store Blog | Fashion, Lifestyle, News and Events.

please, smell the roses

Honestly, stop and smell them, aren’t they beautiful?

As we enter the silly season, please remember to take time to appreciate the little things that we can so easily overlook.

Be present in each and every moment and treasure the time that we have with the people around us.

This time of year is meant to be full of love and laughter but sadly it is often the hardest time for so many

As life speeds up, if you find yourself getting stressed and overwhelmed..

Breathe, just chill out

When life starts to get like this, when we are too busy to enjoy, the world.

When the smallest of mistakes feel like they could send your world crashing down…

No matter how bad a situation may seem

life will go on.

It is very rarely as big a deal as it may seem.

I know, I know, it’s so easy to say that now. And next time I’m freaking out over something, if anybody gave me the same advice they would have to be either very brave or very stupid, but maybe, if you are reading this while you are (hopefully) in a much better, calmer frame of mind you will be able to receive the message and not be overcome by a severe urge to throttle me for giving it.

What may seem like the end of the world usually is much less significant than it may feel in the heat of the moment, but unfortunately, it takes time to see that. The clarity that hindsight brings once the dust has settled on a situation allows us to move on, forgive, apologise and see a situation for what it really was, and as hard as it is, whenever things seem to be getting out of your control and you may be getting swept away in the chaos, please, just try to step back and see things objectively.

How would this look if you weren’t one of the players in the scene?

When I slip into one of these frenzied moments of madness, I often tend to push away and unintentionally hurt those closest to me. Because I am alienating myself from those around me, caught up in the world of my problems where nobody understands me and I’m all alone in this cruel, cruel world, their words of support and offers of help seem to only make things worse, every little thing they do can seem like a personal attack and I withdraw or worse, I fight back. The people there, on my team, who are offering anything and everything, all the solutions to my problems receive not the thank you’s they deserve but a slap in the face from a , quite frankly, crazy psycho bitch impersonating me (I would hate to admit that it is actually me in those times… It can’t be, right?).

♥♥♥

Throughout my life, I have lost too many people I love, because they have fallen into the ocean of despair and been unable to break through the surface and regain perspective. I will never know if anything could have stopped them from ending things the way that they had, but I will do anything and everything in my power, to spread this message and to be a support to those whose own foundations may be beginning to give way, taking and sharing the load where I can while they rebuild their strength. This post is quite difficult for me to write, having been somebody who once stood on the edge of that cliff but thankfully did not jump. I feel hypocritical saying what I’m saying while I myself struggle with the darkness brought from mental illness.

You may be asking yourself how this post relates to fashion or fits with the rest of the content on this blog, well it doesn’t really but Justa Local Store stands for giving back to the community, helping those in need and supporting charities Australia wide with their Justa Donation program, where $1 from every item purchased is donated to charities that are chosen throughout the year.

Depression, anxiety and mental illness are scarily common, with 3 million of us diagnosed with some form, and countless others undiagnosed, experiencing the deep lows with no support or explanation as to why, the majority of these people are suffering In silence.

There is a stigma attached and the subject is still quite taboo, we often receive thinly veiled mentions or stories that skirt around the topic from the media, but people seem scared to ever openly talk about it, this has led to sufferers feeling alone in their battle and like they can’t reach out, they aren’t aware of how many others feel the way that they do. The isolation caused by depression is then reinforced by this lack of information and it quickly becomes a heavy burden, a secret that must never be revealed and another chore that needs to be done by a person who is already struggling with just the chore of living day to day.

Beyond Blue are an Australian charity fighting to take away the stigma from mental illness. With so many Australians suffering from depression and anxiety, it is much more common than you may think, but it is hidden, the sufferers hiding their condition because there is a sense of shame attached. This is something that we need to talk about. We need to break the stigma because currently, 8 Australians will attempt suicide a day and that is a statistic that nobody should feel comfortable with. These poor people are lost, scared and overwhelmed, they feel like they can’t talk to anybody, and that even if they did, nobody else seems to feel the way that they do. Beyond Blue offer a support line or if you are not feeling ready to talk to someone over the phone, online chat rooms and online resources to help both sufferers and people concerned that somebody they care for may be going through the battle.

Because I know how it feels, and because I had a support network of the most amazing people, people who quite literally saved my life, I have to try to share this message and have it heard by anybody who may need to hear it…

The sun will always reemerge from behind the clouds.

It’s time to take off our masks…

We all try to hide behind the facade of a picture perfect life, while struggling beneath the surface, like a duck frantically paddling its legs beneath the waters smooth surface. We try not to let each other see the things with which we struggle, we hide our flaws and try to edit our realities because we want to appear ‘normal’. All the while, our next door neighbour is wearing a mask of their own. We suffer in silence while perpetuating the issue and we need to break this devastating cycle and let each other know that while our struggles may be different, the feelings are not for you alone.

I am a human, part of a family, in a relationship. ve a job and friends. I smile and I laugh. I’m emotional, very emotional, I cry… a lot (I’m actually crying right now), I fill my time with hobbies, I love making clothes, op shopping and creating art. I am ‘normal’, if such a thing exists, and I suffer from mental illness. I am a person that anybody can reach out to, if you feel like you need somebody just to listen…

If you need more than just a friend, Beyond Blue offer volunteer counsellors, trained to help where they can, or direct you to somebody who can if they need to. They are friendly, supportive and above all, they care. If you are feeling alone, there is no shame in asking for help, you are human.

Let’s start the discussion that needs to be started. Be brave enough to open ourselves up to those around us, I was scared of judgement once too, but I revealed my struggle in a moment of desperation and received nothing but positivity and love, which was exactly what I needed as I did not have enough of those feelings within myself.

Love will make the world a better place supplies, be kind and good to each other.

Try not to let day to day life overwhelm you. Step back. A second spared to smell the sweet perfume of a rose may be enough to bring you clarity. It may even save your life.

If you are struggling or fear that someone you love may be, Contact Beyond Blue‘s online at – https://www.beyondblue.org.au – or call 1300 22 4636

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Justa Local Store is an Online Boutique housing Australian + New Zealand Designers.
We make a point of supporting local through who we stock and donating $1 to charity from every item.
Follow us on our journey as we make changes to stick with brands that are eco sustainable and move away from those who aren't.
Silence is consent.